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God is Treating You As Sons
Hebrews 12:5b-7a
Malcolm Fraser, a former Prime Minister of Australia, famously said life wasn’t meant to be easy. He meant that life is gonna have hardships we might as well just suck it up and deal with it.
Though there may be some truth to his statement, it also implies that hardship has no purpose. It’s just a fact of life. That’s not what the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 12 we read:
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. –Hebrews 12:5b-7a
I’ve never enjoyed discipline. It hurts. It’s hard, but my parents disciplined me because they loved me. They wanted to shape me into a the person they wanted me to be. They wanted to change my actions. God is the same way. He uses hardship to shape us. Often when he allows hardship to touch us, we think he is angry with us and punishing us, but he’s actually acting in love.
Often he is using difficulty to wake us up and to turn us around, so when the Lord lets hardship touch you, you know where to turn. He isn’t angry with you. He isn’t punishing you, because he punished Jesus in your place. All of your sins are forgiven in Jesus and therefore God loves you and is working for your good.
So when hardship comes turn to the Lord. Move closer to him because he is showing you that you are his child. So life won’t be easy, because God in love will use hardship to draw you closer to him. Amen.
